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Well done is better than well said.
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“Well done is better than well said.”

Benjamin Franklin

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Source
Poor Richard’s Almanack
Date
1737
Meaning

Meaning of “Well done is better than well said.”

Franklin gives execution priority over impressive promises or intentions.

Source context

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Poor Richard’s Almanack.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

BusinessCalmDecisionDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyEffortHard WorkInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistencePatiencePeaceProductivityResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortSuccessWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellActionMotivation For WorkWords of Wisdom: Practical & Philosophical CounselWork Ethic
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Drive thy business, or it will drive thee.
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“Drive thy business, or it will drive thee.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack · 1740s
Meaning & context

Work becomes harder to control when it is left unmanaged; the maxim favors deliberate direction, priorities, and active stewardship over reactive pressure.

Source details

Poor Richard’s Almanack; a compact maxim about managing work before accumulated demands begin managing you.

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Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.
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“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack · 18th century
Meaning & context

Leisure is easier to protect when working time is used deliberately, linking time management with freedom rather than treating organization as an end in itself.

Source details

Poor Richard’s Almanack; the maxim connects disciplined use of working time with the ability to gain leisure.

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Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
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“Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”

Benjamin Franklin · Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin · 1791
Meaning & context

Resolution becomes useful only when followed by execution; the maxim links deliberate standards with the habit of carrying them through.

Source details

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Part II, thirteen-virtue table: Resolution. Project Gutenberg #148 (Charles W. Eliot / Harvard Classics, 1909) preserves the represented wording; the reviewed direct locator is Wikisource Section Thirty Six.

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I would concentrate upon the manufacture of iron and steel and be master in that.
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“I would concentrate upon the manufacture of iron and steel and be master in that.”

Andrew Carnegie · Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie · 1920
Meaning & context

Focused specialization can create depth of knowledge and execution by directing limited attention toward mastering one field instead of scattering effort across many ventures.

Source details

Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie; Carnegie describes his decision to concentrate his business attention on iron and steel.

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The master-word is Work
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“The master-word is Work”

William Osler · The Master-Word in Medicine · 1903
Meaning & context

Osler makes sustained work the organizing principle of his address to medical students, emphasizing disciplined practice over brilliance without application.

Source details

The Master-Word in Medicine, address delivered October 1, 1903 at the opening of the new buildings of the University of Toronto Medical Faculty; reviewed against the represented 1903 John Murphy pamphlet, Internet Archive identifier b28060805. ‘The master-word is Work’ is Osler’s organizing refrain and is followed by his appeal to write the word on the heart and forehead. This remains historical professional rhetoric rather than an endorsement of unsafe working hours or workaholism.

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